


The Paladin of Al'Kamer

by Shadow_Space42



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), BAMF Lance (Voltron), Druid Lance (Voltron), F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2019-10-27 04:18:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17759639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow_Space42/pseuds/Shadow_Space42
Summary: After the destruction of Altea, a group of shadow warriors appeared and opposed the Galra. For 10,000 years they waited for the other paladins and lions to awaken and join them in their fight with their leader, the Blue Palidin.





	1. Prologue

     The sun shone bright into his eyes as he stared out into the juniberry field. Excitement ran through his veins from what had happened earlier that day. After phebes of hard work, he finally became a Master Druid, the youngest in all of Altean history.  
     Lavelion leaned back on his hands enjoying the last of the suns rays before the gentle light of the moons peaked over the mountains. A light rustling from behind alerted Lavelion to anothers presence. Turning, his eyes landed on the young princess Allura.  
     "Aren't you supposed to be at the banquet instead of sneaking out here?" teased Lavelion with a light smirk on his face.  
     "I could say the same to you Lavi, the banquet is in honor of you becoming a Master Druid." she replied with the same teasing smirk.  
     "Just need some time to absorb everything that happened 'lil Juni. After working for this for so long, and it finally happening, it just doesn't feel real." replied Lavelion.  
     When the two were alone together, they often called each other by their nicknames. When she was younger, Allura couldn't pronounce Lavelion's name properly no matter how hard she tried, so he just told the princess to call him Lavi, Allura was the only one who ever called him that. Allura came by her name when she overheard some florists in the palace saying that they needed to gather some more juniberry flowers. Deciding to help, she snuck out into the fields and picked so many of the flowers, she could barely be seen behind them. Whenever anyone offered to help her carry them into the palace, she refused saying that she wanted to deliver the flowers herself. Even only at 8 phebes old, the princess was very stubborn.  
     When Allura found the florists, they were having a conversation with Lavelion. As he saw her drop the flowers at their feet, he chuckled and little, grabbed a stray flower stuck in her hair and placed it by her ear and whispered to her "It's a pleasure to meet you Princess Juni of the Juniberry flowers."  
     Sitting in the field of those very same flowers, the two friends just enjoyed each others presence, watching the moons rise.  
     "With you being a Master Druid now, will we ever be able to play together anymore? And with my training to be a princess taking up more of my time, it seems like we'll barely ever be able to talk." worried Allura.  
     Looking over at the young princess, Lavelion picked her up and placed her in his lap, holding his closest friend tightly against him.  
     "Listen Allura, you are only 13 phebes old, I'm almost 18. We have our entire lives ahead of us. Yes, our duties will take up much of our time, but we will always find some time to play with each other. We made a star vow, remember? That no matter what, we will always be there for each other." said Lavi, soothing his best friends and cousins fears.  
     After hearing those words, the princess relaxed and snuggled closer into the druids hold, just enjoying the moment as his arms tightened around her.  
     One by one, the stars slowly came out while the castle behind them lit up the night sky.  
     "What were the paladins doing when you snuck out Juni?" asked Lavelion with a slight teasing note in his voice.  
     "They were just talking and laughing with everyone. Grygan was serving Blytaz a bottle of fermented Nunvill though, no idea what kind of crazy things those two have done since then."  
     "That sounds like them. Always finding ways to make everyone smile while at the same time, giving everyone a headache." said Lavelion with a fond smile on his face.  
     A few moments more passed until Lavelion stood up with the giggling princess perched on his hip.  
     "I believe that it is time for us to head back to the castle. It's only proper that I show my face at a banquet that was held in my honor. Besides," Lavelion paused with a playful smile, "we wouldn't want the paladins to come looking for us would we."  
     Before Allura could respond, one of the hanger doors on the castle opened and out came the Blue Lion.  
     "Seems like I spoke too soon." said Lavelion, pausing in his walk and waited for the lion to come to them.  
     The two knew when they were spotted because Blytaz started doing tricks in the air, flips and turns and spirals both low to the ground and high in the sky. He always was playful, just like his lion.  
     As the Blue Lion landed in the juniberry field, Lavelion felt a warm purr from the lion brush against his mind. Oftentimes, while he was still an apprentice, Lavelion would sneak out of the druids quarters and make his way down to the lions communal hanger. He would sit in the center of the room and just talk. He would tell them about his day, his hopes and dreams, his family, as well as his fears and insecurities. The Voltron Lions knew more about him than anyone else in the universe.  
     Lavelion set Allura down and she ran straight to the lion as she was opening her mouth. When the two were at the base of the ramp, they saw Blytaz at the top looking a little tipsy, with a big smile on his face.  
     "Found ya!" said Blytaz, opening his arms out wide.  
     "You sure did Blytaz." said Lavelion as he was walking up the ramp and into the cogpit with Allura by his side.  
     "You keep him in check while you were flying Blue?"  
     "Hey! I'll have you know that I can fly Blue anywhere through any conditions." said Blytaz following the pair.  
     "Just like in training last movement?" said Lavelion, a knowing smirk on his face.  
     "That was one time!" cried Blytaz, sitting down with a light blush on his face, remembering the training accident where he rammed into the Black Lion, sending them both head first into the canyon wall.  
     Chuckling, Lavelion watched as the lion leaped from the flower field and into the air, enjoying flying in the Blue Lion with his friends back to the castle and the banquet that was sure to last well into the morning. Little did they know, that in a few short phebes, everything would change.


	2. Suspicion and Warning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be using a lot of Altean time measurements in this book, they are slightly different from the show, so here they are  
> Tick - seccond  
> Dobosh - minute  
> Quintent/rotation - day  
> Movement - week  
> Dal - month  
> Phebe - year  
> Decaphebe - 10 years

     The halls of the battle cruiser were silent.  Only the quiet humm of the engines could be heard. It was the middle of the sleep cycle, no one was awake except for those on the control deck of the ship. All others were peacefully asleep, except for one.

     He was leaning back on a couch in one of the lesser used observation decks. The man was dressed in knee length, dark blue sleeveless robes with a lighter blue sash tied around his waist. Loose fitting black pants were tucked into well worn brown boots that nearly reached his knees. His head was resting on his hand, sleeved in charcoal grey fingerless gloves that reached to his elbows, as he watched the stars slowly pass by, deep in thought.  His blue altean markings softly reflecting the light of the stars. 

     Recent events had Lavelion worried. Zarkon  was drifting apart from the rest of the paladins, spending more and more time on his battle ships. Head Druid Honerva was acting strangely as well, locking some druids out while pulling others closer in.

     A good example of this was the assignment he was recently sent on. A planet allied with Altea had majority of their drinking water polluted by a large group of pirates. It was a job that a handful of apprentices that specialized in blue quintessence could have handled. But instead, he was sent in alone. 

     Lavelion loved doing jobs like that,  helping others to better their lives.  Yet recently, he was assigned to low level jobs meant to take up a lot of his time,  as if they were meant to keep him busy and out of the way. Of what, he didn't know.  He was able to finish his most recent assignment quickly and was restless,  eager to get back to Altea.  The Master Druid of 5 phebes had a feeling that something bad was about to happen,  and soon. Lavelion needed to get back to Altea and talk to King Alfor.

     Knowing that there was nothing he could do while on the cruiser, Lavelion pulled his hood up, casting his face into the shadows, and walked back to his quarters to try and get some rest. The only sound made,  was the soft hissing of the doors as they opened,  and closed.

..........

     A few more rotations passed until the cruiser landed on Altea. Lavelion was restless and needed to talk to Alfor. The uneasy feeling that he has had over the past few rotations has only grown. 

     Quietly,  he slipped away from anyone waiting for those on the cruiser. Lavi's uneasy feeling has only kept growing and he had learned early on to always trust his instincts,  they were usually right. 

     Lavelion quickly walked through the castle, searching for King Alfor, but kept silent and hidden for he did not want to run into anyone else. In the middle of his search,  Lavelion came across a set of opened doors that should always be locked. Cautiously,  he opened the doors a little more and then peered inside. The room was trashed, as if someone was searching every nook and cranny for something. 

     Panic filled Lavelion, for he knew what lay in this room. A set of ancient relics that were said to summon the White Lion.  When Alfor built Voltron,  he based it off of the legendary guardian white lion.  He could not match its strength,  but each of the Voltron Lions represented a single aspect of the White Lion. 

     Rushing into the room,  Lavelion went to the back corner of the room,  maneuvering around all of the fallen weapons and other such relics. There was a large bookcase that held ancient tomes that were now littering the floor. When he came close,  he was relieved a bit to see that the hidden panel 0n the bottom shelf had not been touched. 

     Two phebes ago, Alfor shared the information with Lavelion about the relics and where they were hidden.  The only other person who knew this information was Coran. The other paladins and Allura knew of the relics, but not where they were located. 

     Alfor gave him this information not just because of the promise he showed as a druid, or because of the loyalty he possessed to Altea and her people,  but also because he was family. His mother was the older sister to the Queen of Altea, Alari, King Alfor's wife and mother to Allura. 

     Lavelion opened the hidden panel and found a box made of a violet wood. Grabbing the box, he gently pulled it out and placed it  in front of him.  Lifting the lid, all tension fled from his body at the sight of the relics.  There were six pieces total.  The main piece was a white ring that was a little larger than his palm with silver runes in an ancient script that very few could read along the raised outer edge of the ring. The other five pieces surrounded the white piece.  They each matched to the color of a lion and had matching silver runes on their outer edge. These pieces all would fit inside the white ring. 

     Grabbing all the relics,  he placed them in an inner pocket of his robes then replaced the box back into the hidden compartment as if he was never there. Lavelion just had this feeling that this was for the best and returned to his search for Alfor.

     Two vargas had passed and Lavelion was still no closer to finding the King as he stood in the control room to the castle. He searched everywhere  but still couldn't find Alfor. His worry has only been growing since he found out that someone had been searching for the relics. Sinking into the chair of the blue paladin, his head fell into his hands, wondering where on the planet Alfor could be. 

     He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a slight scuffling coming from the main control panel. Looking up, he saw four mice playing with a small forgotten ball. Smiling,  he got up and  walked over to the mice that stopped and looked up at him.  Leaning down to where he was closer to the mice,  he asked  "Don't suppose you could help me find Alfor could you?"

     The mice just turned away and went back to playing with the little ball.

     Laughing a bit,  Lavelion leaned back to where he was sitting on the floor and just watched the  mice, trying to relax some and figure out what to do next. 

     After watching the mice play for a bit,  Lavi noticed a small hidden panel at the bottom right of the control desk. He and Allura had many little hiding places for messages throughout the castle, but this little hidden cubby was where they hid their more important messages to each other, as no one would assume to look for anything there.

     Taking out the relics,  Lavelion grabbed the main white ring and the black piece,  placing the rest back into his robes. Prying the panel door off, he placed the two relics into the small box he and Allura left inside for their messages.

     After making sure the panel was securely back in place, Lavi looked back over at the mice and saw that they were watching him. Placing his finger in front of his lips and gently smiling,  he softly said "This will be our little secret,  okay." 

     The mice just squeaked back at him. 

     Standing back up,  he left the control room to continue his search for Alfor. But now he had something else he had to do now. Lavelion had to hide the remaining four pieces of the relics, and he knew the perfect places to hide them. Taking the hidden passages to avoid everyone in the castle, he soon arrived at his destination,  the communal hanger to the lions. To his relief,  all were present,  sitting tall and proud. 

     As he walked in, Lavi could feel the eyes of all the lions on him.

     "I have something to ask of you all," started Lavelion, "For the past few dal, I've had this uneasy feeling that something bad was going to happen,  and less than three varga ago, I found the Room of Relics tossed."

     At this, he felt the surprise and outrage of the lions but continued on.

     "Thankfully nothing was taken, but I need you to do something for me. I need each of you to hide a piece of the White Lion  relics within you. I hope that  this will not be for long, but I would rather be safe than sorry."

     When he finished,  Lavelion felt the consent of each of the lions as they lowered their heads for him to enter except for the black lion.  Somehow,  she already knew that he had already hidden the black piece. 

     One by one,  he hid a relic within each of the Lions.  Each lion showed him a different place within to hide the relics. The Red Lion had her piece hidden in her cargo bay that doubled as a training room.  The Green Lion within their control panel. Blue in her small sleeping quarters, and Yellow in a false bottom drawer with the emergency supplies in the cogpit. 

     After hiding the relics within the lions, Lavelion continued his search for Alfor.  Remembering he sometimes walks the markets to talk with the people , Lavelion left the castle and headed into town. 

     By the time Lavelion found the King, the sky was just beginning to turn violet from the setting sun. It was no surprise to the druid to find the King surrounded by his people and having a conversation with them. Lavelion was never more thankful for his druid robes than he was at the moment for everyone parted for him, knowing that if a druid needed to talk with the King it would be important. 

     When Alfor saw him making his way over, he excused himself from the conversation, a small worried frown taking place of the large smile he wore only moments before when he saw the serious expression on his nephew's face. 

     "Lavelion,  what is it that you need?" asked Alfor. 

     "I need to speak with you," said Lavelion,  "Privately."

     Alfor nodded and began walking back to the castle, Lavelion falling into step beside him. They made it only a few blocks when Alfor spoke up.

     "What did you need to talk about. By the expression you wear, I know it's serious."

     Lavelion was quite for a little while, gathering his thoughts. 

     "I don't know exactly," he started slowly, "but I've had this feeling that something bad is going to happen soon. It's been growing for the past few movements. But for the past few dal,things haven't been adding up, and I think it has something to do with Zarkon and Honerva,but I don't know what. All I have to go on is this feeling."

     "Hmmm, do you have anything else to go on though? There is nothing that can be done if all we have is a gut feeling, and I also trust those two with my life." replied Alfor. 

     "Other than what might be weird behavior for the two,  that is all I have. I trust them, but this feeling just won't go away."

"What kind of weird behavior?" asked Alfor, stopping near a cliff edge. 

     Lavelion didn't notice,  but Alfor brought him to a cliff that overlooked Altea city. At their feet was the bustling market. Beyond was the Castle of Lions, gleaming in the light if the evening sun. To their right lay the housing where many of the cities residents lived. Some of the buildings low to the ground, others soaring high into the sky. To their left were the juniberry fields, the flowers were gently swaying in the soft breeze. Behind them were the mountains, filled with so much life you could almost feel the quintessence flowing from within. 

     "Zarkon,he feels distant,  especially since the destruction of Dizaball. In the past he interacted with everyone and now, hardly anyone ever sees him.  And Honerva, she's not just distant,but seems to be separating the druids.  She's keeping some close while sending others to far off systems for tasks that are far below or above their skill set. I fear to say it but, it's almost like she's gathering druids of a like mind and  getting rid of those who aren't Alfor." Said Lavelion,  wrapping his arms around himself,  showing just how much this situation worries him.

     When he finished,  Alfor turned to face his nephew.  What he saw saddened him. Lavelion was a bright soul, always with a smile on his face and would find a way to put a smile on others. Rarely would you see the boy without a smile. But now, he wore the most serious expression, layered with fear, sadness and worry, Alfor had never seen such an expression on anyone. 

     After a few more moments of silence with Lavelion watching the city and Alfor watching the druid, the king let out a heavy sigh and spoke. 

     "I'll look into this Lavi. I pray to the ancients that you are wrong about this, otherwise it means that Altea is about to face her deepest betrayal yet."

     "You and me both Uncle, you and me both."

     "I must return to the castle.  Meet me tomorrow in my study after the morning meal so we may plan what we need to do next."

     "In the morning then Alfor. May the stars guide your path."

     "May the stars guide your path." echoed Alfor.

     With that, the king walked down the cliffs path to the castle while Lavelion stayed where he was. He stayed there on the cliff for vargas trying to come up with something to either prove or disprove Zarkon's and Honerva's loyalty to Altea and what reasons they would have to betray Alfor.  Sometime during his thoughts,  Lavelion drifted to lay on his back, watching the sky. It was like this, the druid fell asleep beneath the two moons dancing across the sky in a sea of stars. 


	3. The Fall of Altea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I use the Chinese units of measurement for distances, but there is one that you will need to know the most  
> Li - kilometer

     The next morning,  Lavelion woke with a start. He couldn't tell what had so abruptly awoken him. Sitting up he scanned the area to see if anything was off. It was then that he felt it, faint vibrations through his fingertips from the ground.  Closing off all of his other senses, Lavelion focused on what he was feeling. 

     Once he realized what it was that he felt  Lavelion bolted up and was running down the cliffs path. Sprinting down to the castle,  panic gripped the druid.  What he felt, were explosions,  a few li on the other side of the mountains, and coming towards the Capitol quickly. 

     By the time he reached the edge of the market, people could feel the explosions and were sticking their heads out to take a look.  When they saw Lavelion running at full speed towards the castle,  they ducked back inside, for everyone knew if you saw a druid run like that,  nothing good was happening. 

     Only part way through the market, and the source of the explosions made themselves known.  It was a large galra fleet.  Hundreds of battle cruisers filled the skies at all altitudes. Dread filled Lavelion,  he was too late. He didn't warn Alfor in time. 

     A roar filled the skies and four lions launched to defend Altea.  The Black lion was noticeably absent. 

     Canon fire rained down on Altea, destroying everything.  People were running around,  trying to get away from the destruction falling down around them. It was complete chaos and considerably slowed Lavelion's progress towards the castle.  Pausing for a tick, Lavi searched for a quicker way. His eyes landed on the rooftops.  It would be risky if one collapsed under him, but it was worth the risk. 

     Sprinting to the nearest building, his hands searched for places to grab and started to climb  
His skill with levitation was not the best, but it was enough to aid him in getting to the rooftop.

     Once he reached the roof, Lavelion started to run again in the direction of the Castle of Lions. Using his magic to aid him if the distance between two buildings was too great, he made it to the landing pads by the castle in good time.

     But not good enough.

     The castle was taking off before Lavelion could even get close.

     Watching the castle leave, the druid then started to look around to see what he could do. There were five battle cruisers that had not yet taken off and their captains were racing to their ships.

     Running towards them, Lavelion called out, "Captains! Wait a tick."

     Hearing the druid call out to them, the five Altean Captains waited for him, but were restless to get to their ships to defend Altea.

     "Druid," called one of the captains, "What do you need, but be quick about it."

     "Apologies Captain Murik, but don't take off to fight." said Lavelion.

     "And why would we do that Druid." said another captain, "Altea is under attack, she needs as many ships as possible to defend her."

     "I understand this Captain Jafel. But the cannon fire from the galra is digging deep, and each shot is going deeper into the ground. Soon the earth will start to rip apart, and when the cannon fire reaches Altea's core, the planet will be no more. I need you all to gather as many Alteans as you can fit in your ships and evacuate."

     The Altean captains were stunned into silence. Altea was their home and they swore to defend her to their last breath. But when they felt an earthquake, they knew that the Master Druid before them spoke the truth. They split up going to the last of the ground crew around them to gather as many Alteans as possible to their ships. Soon, a steady stream of Alteans were boarding the five ships.

     Lavelion was in the market calling to everyone to the landing pads to evacuate when he heard an explosion, louder than the others, above him. Looking up, he saw the Blue Lion falling straight toward the center of the market.

     The crash was not pretty. At least a dozen buildings were destroyed or heavily damaged as the lion fell and many more were gone when she finally touched the ground.

     Worried for Blytaz, Lavelion ran towards the blue lion. When he arrived, she opened her mouth to let him in. As he entered the cogpit, he was horrified at the sight. There was blood splattered across the control panel as well as the view screen. There was blood dripping down to the floor where Blytaz sat, the pool too large to be anything good and was slowly growing with each drop.

     When he saw this, Lavelion raced to Blytaz. The sight that met him was worse than the blood around him. Blytaz was coated in blood, some was galran but most was his. His armor was shattered into pieces, some of it pierced his body. Why he was wearing his planets traditional armor and not the stronger paladin armor, Lavelion wouldn't know. Taking in all the blood loss and the severity of the wounds, Lavelion knew that his druid magic would do nothing to heal the Blue Paladin, but he could ease his pain.

     With his magic flowing into Blytaz, Lavelion tried waking the paladin.

     "Blytaz, hey Blytaz.!"

     The blue paladin stirred, his face twisting in pain. Slowly, his eyes drifted toward the druid.

     "La...vel...ion," the blue paladin whispered, blood dripping from his mouth with every breath.

     "I'm here Blytaz." Lavelion gently said to his friend, filling him with calming magic while hell was raining down around them.

     "Give.....give those.....galra drani.....hell.....temanku."

     With those final words, Blytaz fell forward into Lavelion's hold, dead. Tears flowed freely down the druids face as he held the dead paladin. Tightening his hold on Blytaz for a moment, Lavelion quietly whispered back, "I promise, temanku."

     Gently picking up Blytaz, Lavelion carried him to the back corner of the cogpit. Setting a hand on a panel, a cryo pod rose from the floor. Placing Blytaz in the pod, Lavelion turned to the pilots chair. A comfortable purr filled his mind as he sat down. The Blue Lion had chosen her new Paladin.

     "Alright girl, let's make the paladins proud."

     An approving purr touched at the edge of his mind as Lavelion guided the Blue Lion to take off towards the landing pads where a crowd of Alteans were surrounding the five battle cruisers. Landing the lion and opening up her cargo bay, Lavelion left the cogpit to guide people into the lion.

     All around them was pandemonium. Cannon fire and battle debris were raining down from above. Buildings were crashing down around them. But the worst was the earthquakes. The earthquakes were getting so severe, the earth was ripping itself apart, creating crevices so suddenly that people couldn't get away and fell deep into the ground.

     Lavelion helped with his magic where he could, creating bridges for people to cross over to the cruisers, sometimes a platform to catch those falling when he was quick enough. But he could only do so much and he was running low on quintessence.

     Suddenly, magma was shooting up from the rifts in the earth, blocking him from helping anyone else on the other side. With a heavy heart, Lavelion had to turn away and go back to the blue lion, the cries if despair from those left behind will forever haunt him.

     Alteans crowded into every available space, all horrified and scared of everything happening around them. Sorrow was added to those in the cogpit for they saw what happened to Blytaz, but a small spark of hope flared when Lavelion took the pilots seat.

     "Captains, we need to take off NOW!" commanded Lavelion over the communications line to the other five slips.

     Not waiting for a response, he took off with a precious cargo of nearly a hundred Alteans of all ages. And not a moment too soon. Only a tick after the final ship left the landing pad, the ground broke apart and magma began bubbling into the air.

     "Follow me as close as you can, when we get out of orbit, I'll open a wormhole to get us somewhere safe."

     "Understood." came the unified response of the five captains.

     At that moment, there were three things that Lavelion was grateful for. The skill of the crews to the battle cruisers following him. They expertly weaved through the chaos that surrounded them while taking out attacking galrans and falling debris.

     His time with Blytaz in Blue as he showed him how to pilot the lion. Never had he thought that he would need to put those lessons to use.

     And for Blue, she showed him exactly what to do in his mind. Advising him when to adjust his speed, which direction would be the safest route, and which weapons worked best in each individual moment.

     After a handful of tense dobashes that felt more like a few vargas, the group left Alteas atmosphere and were met with a sight that made every single last one of them pale in horror.

     Thousands of galran battle cruisers, fighters, and artillery ships surrounded all if Altea. This was a fight they were never going to be able to win.

     "When I give the signal, put your thrusters at full power and go straight ahead."

     "But Master Druid, that will take us right into the center of the fleet." said Captain Kairel, the youngest of the five. He had never seen anything like this and it terrified him to the core. This terror was paralyzing the Altean and only the gentle but stern response of the druid calmed him enough to move.

     "Trust me Kairel. I won't let anything happen to anyone."

     To everyone that was able to hear that communication, they were able to strengthen their resolve to get out of this nightmare of a situation. For the druids voice was calm, determined, and gentle all at once. They knew that the druid would do everything in his power to keep this promise.

     Reaching deep within himself, Lavelion searched for his dwindling quintessence. In less than a tick, he released his quintessence before the five ships and opened a wormhole.

     When the captains saw this, they powered their thrusters to full strength and shot forward to their only hope of escape. But one ship was not fast enough. A single shot hit the right thrusters of Kairel's ship.

     Seeing them in trouble, Lavelion maneuvered the lion to grab hold of the cruiser and began towing it to the wormhole where the last of the other ships had just gone through.

     There was nearly a solid beam of light shooting from the lions tail gun with how much they were firing at the galra, trying to make a clear path to the wormhole just in front of them.

     Unknown to the Alteans, a galran battle cruiser was charging up their ion cannon. The blue lion's speed was slowed considerably by towing the damaged battle cruiser, but Lavelion was determined to get everyone to safety. The cannon was less than a dobash away from firing. If the Alteans were hit, they wouldn't survive and the blue lion would be severely damaged at best.

     Ticks from entering the wormhole, Lavelion looked at a rearview screen and saw the ion cannon. Panic, dread, and terror shot through Lavi. Pushing Blue to her limits, he started pouring the last of his quintessence into blue to give her some more speed.

     But it wasn't enough. They were still too slow in entering the wormhole.

     Just as the cannon began to fire, Altea collapsed in on itself and imploded. The shock waves strong enough to destabilize and shift the galran battle cruiser just enough to where it fired on its own and missed the Alteans by a hairs breath. Thus allowing them to slip through the wormhole, and away from the galrans, away from the rubble of their home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drani - highly insulting way of saying bastard  
> Temanku - a way of saying brother/sister in every way but blood, someone you trust completely 
> 
> Hope you like this chapter, tell me what you all think


	4. Finding Sanctuary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry everyone for the long wait, but it was chaos at work for a while and my mother had surgery with no one else who could be her caretaker as she recovered. Chapters should come out quicker now, enjoy.

     In a far off quadrant of space, the quiet stillness was disturbed with the opening of a wormhole.  Four ships slid through into the darkness and gathered a short distance away.  A dobosh passed and the blue lion carrying another ship passed through and the wormhole closed behind them.

     "Master Druid,  are you all right?" asked Captain Jafel through the video comms. All five captains were up on Blue's monitors.

     "I am fine Captain,  just drained." replied Lavelion,  "How is everyone on your ships, no major injuries?"

     "None Master Druid. said Captain Orana. She was one of the best captains that Altea had ever seen 

 She had shoulder length hair the color of malachite and amber colored eyes with gold scales set into honey tanned skin.  She may be severely strict at times but cares deeply for her crew.

     All other captains reported no major injuries, at least, none that needed a cryo pod right now. Nodding once, satisfied with the answers,  Lavelion slumped back into the pilots chair with exhaustion. 

     "There is a small system a few vargas from here. I don't have any quintessence left to wormhole us there. It's not on any of the galran star maps because it is a relatively young system,  but one of the planets is capable of sustaining life.  Here are the coordinates.  Kairel  and I will need to be towed there. I don't know how much longer I can stay awake." 

     "We will carry you there Master Druid.  Don't worry." replied Murik, a soft smile on his face. 

     With a small,  tired smile of his own in response,  Lavelion separated from Kairel's cruiser and waited for the tow lines to attach to the Blue Lion  before he allowed himself to relax into the chair. 

     After a moment of silence,  Lavelion turned to the Alteans that stood behind him. 

     "Is everyone alright?" he asked. 

     "We are all fine Master Druid,  thanks to you." said an elderly Altean. 

     "That's good.  I need one of you to do something for me.  Go down to the cargo bay and let the others know what's going on. We're going to be like this for a little while. 

     A pair of young Alteans, twins by their appearance, left to fulfill the druids request. 

     "Make yourselves as comfortable as possible. It'll be a few vargas until we reach our destination."

     With that said,  Lavelion turned back around and sank into the chair,  letting unconsciousness consume him. He became dangerously close to over drawing his quintessence as they were escaping, and that took a heavy toll on his body.  Now with the quiet of space surrounding him, Lavelion was finally allowed a moment to relax. 

..........

     A gentle hand on his shoulder is what Lavelion was first aware of. He was so deep into the realm of sleep that not even dreams disturbed him.  But that hand was continuously shaking his shoulder. There was noise as well, but he couldn't make it out.  Ever so slowly, he opened his eyes and was met with the sight of the elderly Altean from before. 

     "Master Druid,  we have arrived." she said.

     Nodding,  Lavelion turned his attention to the view screen. Sure enough,  there was the planet. It had vast violet oceans and blue land masses.  It was only about two-thirds the size of Altea but the water to land ratio was about the same.  Lavelion and a small crew of Alteans had come across this planet not even a dal ago. They were able to send some probes down and discovered that the atmosphere was similar to Altea and could possibly become a colony in the future.  But what impressed them the most was that this planet was completely hidden from their sensors. It was pure luck that they were able to stumble across this planet. Now, Lavelion was betting on the fact that whatever kept the planet hidden from the Alteans, would hide them from the Galrans.

     Opening communications to the other ships,  Lavelion gave them a quick briefing about the planet.

     "There is a large valley at this location where we could land our ships.  There is a clean water source in the valley,  we can rest there and plan our next move."

     "Alright,  disengaging tow cables from the Blue Lion and preparing for descent." said Captain Jafel. 

     "Captain Kairel,  is your ship able to land under its own power?" questioned Lavelion. 

     "No, all stabilizers and thrusters are down on our right side." stated Kairel. 

     "Alright.  Captain Orana,  Captain Jafel,  you two will need to tow Captain Kairel's ship down to the surface.  Take her down easy. Captain Kairel,  do everything you can to keep your ship stable." ordered  Captain Murik.

     It took most of a varga, but all five ships and the blue lion were able to safely land in the valley.  By the position of the sun, it seemed to be mid morning for their location  on the planet. As soon as all ships and the lion were stable on the ground,  they opened up to let everyone out of the cramped quarters. 

     When they exited the ships, some Alteans collapsed to the ground thanking the Anchients, others stood numbly, unsure of what to feel or do. The rest tried to find loved ones, letting out cries of joy when reunited, or wails of despair now knowing that those they cared for were gone.

     For now,  everyone was safe. Sinking into the chair and watching everyone,  Lavelion processed everything that had happened. He still couldn't believe it,  Altea was gone, just like that. His family,  his friends,  all gone. With no one left in the cogpit,  Lavelion allowed himself to cry.

     His voice, filled with bone deep despair and sorrow, echoed through Blue as he grieved for his family.  His strict but loving mother  who encouraged him to become a druid.  His loud and boisterous father who first showed him how to be a sharpshooter of both bows and guns. And all his siblings,  nieces and nephews. He would never see their smiling faces again,  never hear their laughs or words of encouragement. Never spend another festival together or just sit under the stars enjoying each others company.

     Lavelion had no idea how long he let himself cry  but as he was pulling himself back together,  he noticed some Alteans were watching the Blue Lion,  probably waiting for him to come out.

     "Blue, I need you to scan and give me the number of Alteans that survived.  Include me in the number as well." requested Lavelion with a weary voice. 

     Blue purred in his mind and it almost felt as if she was curling around him as if to protect him from all that would do him harm. 

     "Thanks Blue." said Lavelion with a soft, smile. 

     A little screen popped up in front of the druid. Looking at it, it held the number of surviving Alteans. 682, such a small amount compared to the millions before, but it was better than none having survived at all. 

     Taking a moment to compose himself,  Lavelion then stood and exited the lion.  Standing at the base of the ramp using Blue to support him, Lavelion took a little time to really look around at the planet they landed on. 

     Soft, light blue colored grass swayed gently in the breeze blowing through the valley.  At what appeared to be the northern end, a small pink river bisected the valley before turning and disappearing into the mountains.  Tall trees with blue leaves and silver trunks towered into the lilac sky. 

     Lavelion snapped out of his daze when he heard someone call for him. Turning toward the sound of the voice,  he saw all five of the captains and their second in commands by their sides. Seeing a large tree nearby,  Lavi nodded his head towards it and started walking to the tree, knowing that the others will follow. 

     Reaching the base of the tree, Lavelion nearly collapsed down into the roots and leaned back against the trunk with closed eyes.  Soft rustling told him that the  Alteans sat down around him. Slowly opening his eyes,  Lavelion looked at the captains and their lieutenants.

     "Altea is gone." he stated simply.

     Kairel stared down at his hands in his lap,  they were clenched so tightly that they were practically white. Tears flowed freely from Orana's eyes that held deep sorrow,  but showed no other emotions. Jafel softly kept repeating no over and over while curling in on himself.  Hazer tried to comfort Jafel  but it was obvious that he was trying to keep himself from falling apart. Murik just had a defeated but accepting look, he knew when they left the atmosphere and came face to face with the galra fleet  that there would be no other outcome for Altea. The lieutenants all had similar reactions to the captains.

     It was all expected on how everyone reacted, for Altea was their home. 

     "While I would like to let everyone grieve,  we need to make a plan on what to do next." said the druid. 

     "Food, water, and shelter are the most immediate needs right now.  We just have to scan the river to confirm its drinkable. We also have the rations in the galley of our ships for food,  at least until we find food that's safe for us to eat on this planet." stated Murik, "So what we really need to focus on is shelter.  While we know that everyone could fit on the ships,  it would be extremely cramped and no one will be able to get any sleep like that."

     It was silent for a while until a soft voice spoke up, "What about the caves?"

     At this comment,  all eyes turned towards the voice.  It belonged to a younger Altean,  newly promoted to their position as a lieutenant. When she saw all the attention was on her, she started to curl in on herself to make her seem smaller,  she was still  too shaken from the attack and loss of her home for any confidence to show. 

     "What is your name lieutenant?" asked  Orana in an almost motherly tone.  It was this softer voice that encouraged her to unfurl some and face everyone. 

     "Alleki, lieutenant to Captain Hazer." she replied. 

     "What were the caves you mentioned  Lieutenant Alleki?" Captain Orana gently prodded.

     Reassured  by the gentle tones, Alleki sat straighter and in a slightly more confident voice stated "As we waited for  Captain Kairel's  ship to land, the wind from the thrusters started to blow against a thick layer of vegetation along the mountainside. As we began to lang, I noticed an opening hidden behind the vegetation.  Maybe there are caves big enough for everyone to fit until we can find more suitable accommodations."

     There was a moment of silence as everyone thought about this, weighing the pros and cons. 

     A few moments later,  Jafel voiced his thoughts,  "I believe that at this moment,  the caves,  if they are adequate for our purposes, are our best shot."

     "Someone will have to go into the cave though to make sure that they are safe," voiced Murik,  "But if confirmed that they are, then we can start moving some supplies in. The elderly, wounded,  and a few guards can stay in the ships while the rest can stay in the cave."

     "I agree," said Lavelion,  "At this moment,  that's our best plan. I would like to  look into this cave with a few others. I can look for anything that can harm our people magically while others can check for any other dangers that may present themselves, we would also need someone with any experience with caves incase  this one goes deep into the mountains."

     Murmurs of agreement flowed throughout the small group. 

     "We will have to  address this plan to the people.  They need to know what's going on so their panic doesn't rise.  Lavelion,  you should get some rest,  you drained your quintessence and have barely recovered.  Don't argue with me, " said  Orana sternly when she saw the druid about to argue,  "My sister was a druid so I know the dangers of over drawing your quintessence.  We'll get everything ready and head out in a few vargas. Just rest for a little while,  okay."

     Letting out a heavy sigh,  Lavelion knew that he wouldn't win this argument. 

     "Alright.  I'll be in the Blue Lion.  Come retrieve me when it's time to go."

     Standing,  Lavelion walked around the seated Alteans for Blue. The Captains and their  Lieutenants all watched him disappear into the Blue Lion . Captain Hazer was watching the druid carefully.  He was close friends with King Alfor,  and thus knows a fair bit about the paladins and the bond with their lions. Seeing how the lion acted with Lavelion,  he suspected that they had a new blue paladin to protect them.

     They all had alot of work ahead of them to recover and rebuild what they had lost on what would become their new home,  but all the surviving Alteans were grateful that they even had a chance for this. All thanks to a single druid  who has become their  Blue  Paladin. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all like this, tell me what you think.


End file.
